Laba Kodjo grabbed the winner seven minutes into stoppage time as Al Ain snatched a 3-2 win over Ittihad Kalba on Friday.
Al Ain flew out of the blocks from the opening whistle and built a first-half lead through Caio Canedo, who timed his run perfectly to turn Laba Kodjo's brilliant low cross into the back of the net with a clinical finish from a close range.
Two minutes after the break, Habib Al Fardan hit the equalizer after towering above Laba Kodjo to thump his header past Khalid Eisa.
Eight minutes before the time, Soufian Rahimi put Al Ain ahead after launching a thunderous first-time volley into the roof of the net.
The hosts refused to give up as they kept searching for the equalizer, and they got what they wanted when they were awarded a penalty kick. Alexandru Cicaldau stepped up and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to make it 2-2 in the stoppage time.
The Togolese striker gave Al Ain a hard-earned three points in the seventh minute of the stoppage time when he picked up the ball inside the box and skipped past a defender; before firing the ball into the back of the net.
The victory means that Al Ain jump to the second spot with 34 points, while Ittihad Kalba are eighth with 24 points.
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